


Can You Hear Me?

by thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey



Series: Aftermath Chaos [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abuse, Brainwashing, Comfort, Gen, Hurt, Torture, hint at abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 23:37:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9521078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey/pseuds/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey
Summary: So, I've seen a lot of fics about the Voltron paladins saying what they're going to do back on earth, but what if they never openly save the earth, everybody is in the dark. And Iverson wasn't happy when they left, so here's what I think he would do.





	1. Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic without an OC, so wish me luck.

“I can’t believe it! We’re finally going back to earth!” Lance grabbed Pidge’s hands and swung her around. “We’re gonna see our families again, and Shiro is going to make Iverson eat dirt! Dead due to pilot error, my foot!” All of the other paladins smiled at Lance’s enthusiasm. “And Keith too! Well, you _do_ have discipline issues, but still! This is going to be _great_!” Hunk was listing off the foods he was going to eat when he got back.

            “…And every fruit I can get my hands on!” Allura smiled.

            “Alright, settle down. We need to know how to handle this. Should we all come, or do you think only you should go at first and we’ll come in later?” Shiro considered a moment.

            “I think us first. We don’t know what their reactions to aliens might be, and we don’t want them to lock you up.” Allura nodded and typed in coordinates and the wormhole opened up in front of them.

            “This is it! We’re going home!”

            Keith shoved the door to his house open. Great. He hadn’t locked it. He really hoped nothing had moved in and torn up his stuff, because that was the only thing he had come here for. He flipped on a light that lit the whole house up. Ok. Nothing had moved in, but his bulletin board was gone. Looked like the Garrison had gotten here already. He shoved all of his stuff in a bag before heading back to the door. A hand covered his mouth and a gun was pressed to his head.

            “Don’t move,” a voice hissed, “If you want your brains to remain in your head.” Keith froze for a moment before snapping his head back into the man’s nose and opening his mouth to shout. A foot crashed into his chest, knocking the breath out of him, his shout becoming a strangled squeak. The man put one foot on his chest.

            “I said, don’t move.”

            Shiro tapped his foot impatiently. What was taking so long? He couldn’t possibly have that much stuff to pack.

            “Do you think we should go in after him?” Lance shook his head.

            “Nah. Give him a few minutes. He’s probably crying goodbye to his conspiracy bulletin board or something.”

            Keith grabbed the foot that was on top of his chest and yanked it so his attacker fell on top of him. Okay, probably not the best move, but now they were on the same level. He tussled with him on the ground. The gun went off, but the silencer was on. So, great. He couldn’t warn his friends that way, and every attempt he made to shout was thwarted. Eventually he was lying on the ground, man on top of him, one hand covering his mouth, his arms pinned by the man’s knees.

            “Yeah, they’re here. No, they won’t leave, I have Kogane pinned down. Well, hurry. They’ll get suspicious soon and come looking for him.”

            Shiro looked up as the sound of a vehicle approached. Then the sirens sounded, and soldiers were swarming everywhere, shoving them down. Another man came out of Keith’s house, dragging a struggling Keith out with him. He shoved the boy away, right into another soldier’s hands. Commander Iverson climbed out of one of the cars.

            “Why, hello, Shirogane.” Shiro snarled at him.

            “What are you _doing_!” Iverson smiled.

            “Arresting some criminals, of course.”

            “We haven’t done anything wrong! Let us go!” Iverson gave him a fake sympathetic smile.

            “Of course _you_ haven’t done anything wrong, Shirogane. I understand, but these four cadets- sorry, three cadets and a wash-out, kidnapped you. We can’t let that go unpunished, now can we? And we have to make sure that there are no… side effects of being kidnapped.”

            “It was aliens, and you know it, Iverson!” that was Keith, shouting and pulling against the man holding him. Iverson waved a hand and the soldiers got off of the paladins, letting them get up, but still keeping restraining hands on them.

            “Ah, yes, I’d forgotten that one of your kidnappers was a bit… wrong. In the head.” He tapped his own skull pointedly. Keith growled and doubled his efforts to get away. “Well, I suppose we will have to take that into account in punishing. It is fine, Kogane. We found a nice home for you.”

            Keith froze. Not another foster home. He couldn’t. He couldn’t do that again. He could feel his breath speeding up as he thought of going back to that life. He could hear Shiro yelling at them to let him go, but it was Hunk who wrapped his arms around him.

            “Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay, Keith, we won’t let them take you back, I promise.” Hunk could feel the red paladin’s heart racing, but his breathing started to slow down so he wasn’t hyperventilating anymore. “You can’t take him back to that, he actually might go crazy for real!” Iverson stared at him coldly.

            “We’re not giving him to a foster home. His past has proven that… ineffective. No, we’re going to take him a place that is more for people like him.” Lance laughed.

            “You can’t find a place with people like him. He’s a bit… alien.” He winked at the other paladins and they all smiled briefly, even Keith.

            “Your sentiments, while touching, have no bearing on his future. Or yours. You are all going to holding cells until I figure out what to do with you, and he’s going to a school for delinquents. Get them out of here.” All of the paladins were ushered away to a car, and Keith was wrenched from Hunk. He looked at them all, his eyes pleading before he was shoved in Iverson’s car and driven away.

            “You have _got_ to be kidding me. Reformation Hall for Troubled Boys?”

            “A person can disappear there. To be honest, there’s no family to get you out of a cell, and, quite frankly, I just want you out of my hair, our lack of thereof, Kogane.”

            “The feeling is mutual.”

            “Also, if you go around talking about aliens nobody will care. They’ll assume you’re just a crazy orphan. Whereas your friends might actually be able to convince someone.” Iverson turned to face him. “I’ve been working for _years_ to cover up alien existence, and I won’t let my work be disrupted by four teenagers and a pilot. Understand? Good. Now get out of my car.” Keith was only too happy to do so. The car sped off, leaving him at the gate. He considered making a run for it. Iverson had pretty much said out loud that he really did not care what happened to him. Of course, that could go both ways. Either he wouldn’t care total, or he would care about protecting the world from aliens enough to have him terminated. Great. Before he could make up his mind, however, two beefy security men opened the gate and brought him in. one handed him a map, another a key.

            “Here’s your room key, here’s your map,” one of them grunted, “have fun.” They went back to guarding the gate. So much for introducing him to the class.

            “Hey, freak, welcome to freak school.” An older, or at least bigger, boy was standing behind him. Keith sighed and mentally prepared himself for the hazing that was soon about to take place.

            “Look, just leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone, ok?” The boy sneered and another bunch of musclebound morons circled him. Great. He’d just found the bully group of the school. How fantastic for him.

            “Let’s see what’s in your bag, shall we?” The bigger boy pulled on his bag.

            “Don’t. Touch. My. Stuff.” The boy froze for a moment, startled by the coldness n Keith’s voice. It didn’t last.

            “Oh, someone thinks he’s tough, does he? Well, let me tell you something, freak. While this may be a reform school, outside of class, they don’t care. So they won’t reward you for being a martyr or punish me for beating you up. That said, let me see the bag.”

            “No.” The boy grumbled something inaudible.

            “Fine.” He threw a punch. Keith grabbed his fist, turned sideways and yanked him forward, sending him sprawling on the ground. Then he kept walking. When he was out of sight, he ran, not stopping until he reached his room and locked the door behind him. He had to get out of here. He would have to escape.

 


	2. Reach Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure what Keith did to deserve this, but well...

Keith raced through the halls. He had only one minute to reach the empty classroom near the end of the hall that was always unlocked before the guard came around again. He had mapped the routes of the guards, and the distances between points by trial and error. After a while, the visits to the principal’s office got boring. They always did. But now, but now he’d seen maps in the principal’s room of which rooms were unlocked, and all the routs. He could get out of here. He had a chance. He slid into the classroom and then waited for the footsteps to recede before dashing to the fire escape. But the fire escape only went so far, and he had to slip back into the building. He could hear the guard, and slipped into the next unlocked room. Where the bullies just so happened to be sabotaging learning equipment. Quiznek.

            Keith edged for the door, waiting, hoping they wouldn’t notice him for the one more minute it would take for the guard to be out of range. No such luck. One of them spotted him and alerted the others. Enough of them grabbed him at once that he couldn’t resist, and a knife was pressed to his throat. The leader sauntered up.

            “Don’t you dare say one word, or we’ll…” His flashlight shone on Keith’s face. “Oh, look what we have here. Mr. Thinks-he’s-tough. Well, I’ve got you now. No more running.” He cracked his knuckles. Keith pressed away from him, but the knife pushed to his throat, drawing blood. The first blow came, right in his stomach. Then the next in his face and the bullies released him so he could crumple. The main one kicked him in the ribs, then again and again. No. No, why was this happening again? Why? He struggled to his feet to be slammed into a wall, meaty fingers wrapping around his throat. _I’m sorry,_ he thought deliriously, _I’m sorry Shiro. Sorry everybody._ Then he remembered what it was like to fly the red lion. The freedom, the strength, all the power, and his foot kicked out into the bully’s privates. He doubled over, releasing Keith, who ran for the door. The gang chased after him, but he was faster. He was the red paladin, and he was going to get out of here and rescue his friends.

            Shiro screamed. Iverson peered at him.

            “Ah, so it really _does_ connect to your nervous system. That was the end of the tests. Now, Shirogane, what terrorist group kidnapped you?”

            “It… was… the Galra aliens. You know that, why are you doing this?” Iverson shook his head.

            “Now, now, Shiro, we know that you are suffering side effects from the kidnapping, but you _know_ that aliens don’t exist. Perfectly reasonable. Your mind made it up to keep yourself from going insane while not realizing it had trapped you in that world. Which terrorist group was it?” Shiro shook his head resolutely.

            “Galra.”

            “You’ll change your mind, I’m sure. Begin the testing again.”

            Keith charged onto the roof, breath hitching in his chest. The thugs burst onto the roof near him and circled around him, only leaving the edge open. Their leader walked slowly up, savoring the moment.

            “Nowhere left to run, freak. Now you’re really going to get it.” Keith gave him the cockiest smirk he could.

            “There’s always somewhere left to run.” He charged, full speed, to the edge of the roof, which had been his plan the whole time. Some of them shouted in a panic, sure he was going to die, they hadn’t signed up for murder. His foot hit the edge and he jumped, using all the force of his run to propel himself forward. He slammed into the fence, ready to climb it. And then the electricity came.

            Commander Iverson looked up from his “testing,” yelling into his com.

            “He did _what_?! The little rat actually _jumped_  into the _electric fence_?! Why would he… They didn’t _warn_ him?! Well, tell them, _no_ I’m not going to file a lawsuit! I don’t care what happens to the brat! From _three_ _stories up_? Why on earth would he… I swear I am going to _kill_ that delinquent!” He shut the com off and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. “Three stories up. Good Lord, what was Kogane _thinking_?! He’s lucky to be alive right now. Three stories. Great. Now I have to deal with an injured teen who’s supposed to be my responsibility. Great. Shirogane, we will finish this later.” Iverson walked out of the room, still mumbling to himself. Shiro smiled, despite himself. Keith had probably failed in his general intent, but he had saved Shiro nonetheless.

            “What were you _thinking,_ dude?! You could have died!” Keith smiled faintly from the hospital bed.

            “Nice to see you too, Lance.”

            “Don’t you ‘nice to see you too’ me! That was probably the dumbest thing you ever did, aside from attacking Zarkon and ejecting yourself into space. Several times, might I add.”

            “Well, I didn’t know the fence was electric, now did I?” Lance face-palmed.

            “Really, Kogane? Really?” Hunk patted him on the shoulder.

            “This is Lance’s general way of expressing concern for his rival. We were all worried, Keith. Why did you do that?” Keith laid his head back on the pillows.

            “I was trying to escape. By the way, where’s Shiro?” His sluggish brain had been trying to establish who was missing, and when Hunk had spoken out he had realized who was gone. Hunk, Lance and Pidge exchanged a glance.

            “We… don’t know. We were separated, and we haven’t seen him since. Also, Iverson has been acting stranger. He keeps asking what terrorist group contacted us, and who they threatened. He doesn’t seem to believe us at all, even though he knows the truth.” The guard who had brought them stood abruptly.

            “Alright, time to go, visiting time is over.” He ushered a complaining trio out of the room, a nearby doctor assuring them that he was right, Keith really shouldn’t have had visitors anyway. The doctor closed the curtains.

            “Mr. Kogane, I know you’re tired, but I need to know a few things. First, why did you jump into an electric fence?”

            “I didn’t know it was electric.” The doctor sighed.

            “You know what I mean. Why did you jump at all?” Keith laughed bitterly before coughing.

            “I’m a ‘troubled boy.’ What other reason do I need?”

            “But were you attempting suicide?”

            “No, I said I didn’t know it was electric. I was trying to run away.”

            “Why? Are they mistreating you?”

            “No, no. I mean there are bullies, but I just don’t belong there. I want to be with my friends.”

            “Your guardian seems to think you belong there.”

            “My guardian thinks I am troubled, but I actually _do_ have a reason for the things I do.”

            “One more thing. That was a _lot_ of electricity, and you fell three stories. You definitely should have more than a few broken ribs, a mild concussion and a broken arm. Any reason that might be?”

            “If I told you, you’d lock me in a loony bin, so no.” He closed his eyes. “Can I sleep now?” The doctor’s gaze softened.

            “Of course. Oh, and by the way, a friend sent you a present. Said they were a gift to help you through school.” He brought a cage out.

            “Weirdest little creatures I’ve ever seen, but each to his own.” Inside the cage were four familiar and _very_ welcome mice. Keith smiled, hopeful for the first time in this stupid week. He knew what this meant. Although she couldn’t fly to his rescue, she was doing the best she could. Allura was looking out for him.

            “Well, well, well. The freak is back. And he has some rodent friends.” The mice squeaked and hid under Keith’s hair. Some protectors they were. Keith tried to keep walking, but the bully put an arm out to stop him. “Don’t think that because you have a cast on that I won’t still beat you up. We got in such big trouble for what happened… You’re going to pay for it.” Keith shoved his arm away.

            “Good, because I didn’t think that. I was thinking I better hold back, because who knows what could happen if I smacked your fat head with my cast. Wouldn’t want to send _you_ to the hospital. The doctors and nurses don’t deserve that.” He walked away, smugly enjoying the look of powerless rage on his enemy’s face.

            “Aww, it’s so good to see you, Keith!” Hunk hugged him, squeezing as tight as he could until Keith squeaked,

            “Ribs!” Hunk released him.

            “Sorry, I forget. So, how’s it going at punk school?” The former paladins were all together in the yard, catching up on what had happened in the last week. Iverson had decided that it would be okay for them to visit Keith once a week, and that time was the only good part of Keith’s week. Also, one look at Hunk had scared off all the bullies, even though Keith knew he would never harm them.

            “Uneventful. Have you found Shiro?” He posed this question every week and was always met with dejected sighs and sad head shakes. This time, however, was different.

            “Who?” Just not in a good way.

            “Shiro? Takeshi Shirogane? Pilot? Team leader? Please tell me you’re joking.” His teammates shook their heads. “Come on! Lance, he was your hero!” Lance shook his head.

            “Keith… he died on a mission to Kerberos. You know that. Pilot error. And you know better than to bring that up. Pidge lost her brother and father in that accident.” Keith stared at them.

            “Okay, what is going on here?”

            “Nothing. He died, and that’s that. But, on the upside, our families have finally managed to get lawyers to take the case! They’re arguing for our release, and yours! We’ll get out of this pit! What’s wrong? You look a little lost.” Keith shook his head.

            “Nothing. But we have lawyers? That’s great!” he faked enthusiasm for the rest of their visit, trying to figure out what had happened when they were gone.

            Then they didn’t come the next week. Keith told himself it was fine; they were probably called to court to witness or something. It was fine. But then they didn’t come the next week. Or the week after that. And his old bully friend, Antonin, was back.

            “Hey, where are your friends, _freak_? Did they realize you were a freak and left? Good for them. They probably only hung around out of pity. But you know what? They can’t protect you anymore. And guess what? I’m still angry at you.” Keith avoided Antonin whenever he could, even when he got his cast off, but he still ran into him sometimes. Then one night, Antonin came looking for him. And he found him.

            “Well, look at you. All alone. But I’m not. And my friends aren’t too happy with you either.” All of Antonin’s big, moronic friends filed in. There was no way out of this.

            “Oh, I see you need the whole squad to beat up one person way smaller then you. That says _wonders_ for your image.” Antonin grinned.

            “They’re not here to help. They’re here to watch the show.” A fist slammed into Keith’s eye. He felt dizzy. No, no, no. This was a _really_ bad time for concussion side effects to set in. Another fist hit him right in the ribs that had only recently healed and he gasped, seeing spots. The smacking continued, Keith’s feeble attempts to hit back just bouncing off. The worst part, however, was when Antonin grabbed his just-healed arm and twisted it. Keith couldn’t hold it anymore. He screamed. Antonin punched him in the jaw to make him shut up, but the mice had heard, and they came scampering in from their nighttime wandering and bit Antonin. Hard. Antonin cursed and shook his hand, leaving Keith alone in order to get them off. He smacked them into a wall, and they all fell off, dazed, to the ground. He raised his foot to stomp on them, but Keith snatched them out of the way. Antonin tried to grab them, but Keith moved them out of his grasp. Antonin kicked him again. Keith curled around the mice protectively as the blows rained down. He was wearing metal-toed boots, and each blow was complete agony. Keith moaned and curled up tighter, able to feel the mice’s frantic hearts beating. Eventually Antonin stopped. He picked Keith up by the neck and slammed him into a wall so hard that he saw stars before releasing him and giving him one last good kick.

            “And that is what happens when you cross me.”

            Shiro stared blankly at Commander Iverson.

            “What… What do you want now?” he croaked, “You’ve already cut my metal arm off.” Commander Iverson smiled.

            “Shirogane, you still haven’t told me who kidnapped you. We need to know.” Shiro closed his eyes and prepared for another night of pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch. If Keith is your favorite character, I'm sorry. Also, I'm sorry, Shiro.


	3. Help

“Keith, are you alright?” Keith’s head snapped up. A teacher was actually talking to him? That was a first. He could see Antonin glaring at him, silently daring him to tell her what had happened, and see what happened to him when Antonin got out of his punishment.

            “Yes ma’am.”

            “You look a little… hurt. Why is that?” Keith shrugged.

            “I’m a troubled child.” She nodded worriedly and continued teaching. Antonin shot a very clear look at him and he lifted his head high, telling Antonin that he hadn’t done it to prevent getting hurt, but because he didn’t need anybody’s help. Antonin glowered.

            “Hey, freak!” Keith ignored him. “Freak!” He shoved Keith. “Why aren’t you answering?”

            “Because I have a name. And if you use it nicely, maybe I’ll answer.” Antonin snarled and shoved him again, this time into a wall.

            “You think you’re so clever don’t you? That’s only gonna get you injured.” Keith kept walking. “You won’t be so clever tonight, because me and my buddies are gonna wipe the floor with you!” He caught up to Keith and wrapped his fingers around his throat. “You are _nobody_ here.

            _Attention!_ The PA system screeched to life. _We have a new student! Welcome him, and,_ Keith could practically feel the principal giving him the stink eye, _remember to warn him that the fence is electric. Have a nice day!_ Great. He would have a fantastic day being strangled. He pulled out his knife, ready to prick Antonin. Just a little, draw some blood, get him to let go. Spots were dancing in front of his eyes as he brought it close to Antonin’s arm The bully gave him a vicious shake, and he lost all control over his arm. The knife plunged up, deep into Antonin’s arm. The bully let him go, staring in shock at his arm. Keith was staring at the knife, now stained with blood. He backed up.

            “Oh, geeze, I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to…” Antonin screamed. Keith backed up two more steps and then turned and _ran_. He ran, through the yard to the gate. The guards were handing the new student his key and map. Keith shoved past him, out the gate that was still open, into the city. A car nearly hit him and it honked. He backed away and then ran, zigzagging through the streets, his feet in control, just running. And then there wasn’t city anymore. And he was in front of his little shack. It always came back here. To the desert. Why? He pushed open the door. No one was there this time. He picked his way through the ruined kitchen and came to his room. He sat down on the floor, alone again. Alone. No more Voltron. No more flying. No more paladins, no more friends. He was just a random orphan nobody cared about anymore. There was some squeaking and the mice crawled out of his pocket where they’d been hidden. He smiled slightly. Well, almost nobody. Their noses twitched, but they apparently decide it was safe, because they curled up into his lap and fell asleep. He looked at them and decided sleep might not be a bad idea. He closed his eyes and was asleep in minutes.

            “Keith?” something touched his shoulder and he started awake, pulling out his knife and pointing it at a very surprised Allura. She held up her hands peacefully and he lowered the knife slowly. The mice scampered out of his lap and ran over to her. She petted them on the heads.

            “Hey, I missed you too! Is everything okay?” Keith blinked the sleep out of his eyes.

            “Allura? What… What are you doing here?”

            “Keith, we set this up as a rendezvous point if anything went wrong, remember? I assume something went wrong.”

            “Yeah.” He told her what had happened.

            “And… I think, somehow, they made Hunk, Pidge and Lance forget everything that happened. They forgot Shiro, and… I think they forgot me too. They just… stopped coming.” Allura frowned.

            “Something is very wrong here. Why would the commander do that?”

            “He’s trying to protect the world from the knowledge of aliens, but he kind of screwed up and now he’s trying to fix it. He has nothing to hold him back, and he could lose everything if he fails. They took the lions. I’m sorry, I should’ve done something, I should’ve done something better.” Allura put a hand on his shoulder.

            “Did you do everything you could?”

            “Y-yes.”

            “Then I couldn’t have expected you to do more. Are all Earthen houses this dark?” Keith got to his feet and flipped the switch, lighting up the house.

            “No.” Allura surveyed all the broken things and the ransacked state of the house.

            “You were living _here_ for a year?” Suddenly Keith was on the defensive.

            “Hey, it got trashed, I promise it was much better when I actually lived here. I forgot to lock the door, and people just walked in.” Allura turned and saw Keith in full light.

            “Keith, what happened to you? You’re injured! Why didn’t you tell me, we need to get you to a cyro pod!”

            “No, no, the blood isn’t mine.” He remembered what had happened yesterday. What he had done yesterday and sank back to the floor. “Oh. Right. The blood isn’t mine.”

            “Keith? Are you… okay?”

            “I stabbed someone in the arm, Allura. I stabbed him.”

            “Keith, I’m sure that-”

            “He was mean, but he didn’t deserve a stab. He could lose that arm because of me.”

            “Why? Why did you stab him?”

            “I was just trying to prick him to make him let go. But I lost control.”

            “Keith, tell me, why does your face look so beat up?”

            “It’s nothing.” The mice squeaked and Allura listened to them. She gasped.

            “Keith, they could have seriously injured you!” He snorted.

            “I fell from three stories off an electric fence and was in school two weeks later. I doubt whatever they could have done would have hurt me.”

            “Still… They shouldn’t be allowed to do that!”

            “Let it go, Allura. We need to figure out how to help the others.” He could tell she was going to bring it back up the moment she could, but she stopped for now.

            “Alright, I’m thinking you need to find Shiro first. The others can wait, but right now anything could be happening to Shiro.” Keith nodded.

            “On it.”

            Keith ran into the Garrison. He only had a few minutes, he knew, before they stopped investigating the explosions and started looking for the culprit. He rounded a corner. Let’s see… if he was a nuts commander of a military training school, where would he hide a prisoner he had been telling everybody was dead for the last two years? He decided to check the holding cells first. But when he reached them, something cracked into the back of his head and he fell, unconscious, to the ground, Iverson’s form leering behind him.

            Keith could hear a beeping noise. Everything was soft, but there was some tube thing sticking into him. What was that all about? Then he realized what that beeping noise was. He’d heard it before. A life support machine. Where was he? He tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his head made him lie down again. He could hear Lance’s voice in the background.

            “Wait, I think he moved! Or maybe not. This is so boring. Why is Iverson making us wait for him to wake up? Sure, he’s been in a coma for two years, but I don’t even know him very well!” Hunk’s voice started somewhere in the haze.

            “Iverson says he was saying our names in his sleep, along with the pilot guy who died on the Kerberos mission. He thought that if he was suffering side effects from the coma, our faces, although they were only part of his sub-conscious, might help him.”

            “It’s still boring.” Keith forced his eyes open. He took in his surroundings. A hospital. And he was hooked up to a life support machine? Why? He had been smacked on the head, sure, but not hard enough for a coma. And certainly not to keep him out for two years.

            “Hey,” he croaked, “What’s going on?” His three teammates stared at him. Pidge pressed a button, one Keith was sure would call Iverson, or a doctor.

            “Um, you’ve been in a coma for two years.”

            “No, I haven’t, Pidge. What are you talking about?” She gave him a look like he was nuts.

            “My name is Katie. And yes, you have.” Iverson walked in.

            “Ah, Cadet Keith. Good to see you awake. We thought you wouldn’t make it after the accident.” Keith pushed himself up.

            “What accident? Why am I here? Where’s Shiro? What have you done with the lions? And Allura, what did you do to her?!” Iverson looked concerned.

            “Keith, Shiro died in a mission. I’m sorry. It happened after the accident. As for the rest of that… well, you were mumbling that kind of thing in the coma.”

            “What accident?! What coma?!”  
            “Keith, don’t you remember? Shortly before the Kerberos mission, there was something wrong with the simulators. There were explosions, and you almost died. You’ve been in a coma for the last two years. Whatever you think happened… It didn’t. Your subconscious was tricking you. There’s no Voltron, no castles in the sky, no princess Allura, no Galra. You dreamed it all.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? The whole show was Keith's subconscious? Sayeth what? Every English teacher ever has told me that waking up and finding the whole thing was a dream is one of the worst endings ever, but read on!


	4. It's Me Again

Keith shouldered his bag and walked out the door. Cadet again. He had been sure… Why was this happening? He had been kicked out, hadn’t he? But Iverson had told him he was in a coma. He didn’t know what to believe anymore. His instinct was to trust what everybody else was telling him was false, but then again, his instinct was probably in league with whatever had caused the “illusion.” Shiro was dead, and none of the others really knew him. So shouldn’t that be enough proof?

            “Hey freak!” Another thing. Antonin was here. In his flight group. But Antonin and his other buddy both claimed never to have seen him before they joined the garrison. Although, apparently it didn’t matter if you were in the dream world or the real world, Antonin was a jerk. Keith had taken to sleeping in the hangar to avoid him. He was sure something was up, but he couldn’t prove it.

            “Hey, freak, what’re you doing?”

            “Going to class.”

            “Without saying hello?”

            “Hello, goodbye, I don't care.” He kept walking

            “Now that wasn’t very nice.” Antonin grabbed the strap of his backpack and pulled him backwards. _Just fight back,_ a voice in his head told him, _It’s not like you actually are half alien, so you won’t hurt him too bad with super strength or anything_. And yet… something held Keith back. Some pervading sense of wrongness. Antonin opened his backpack, and Keith yanked it away.

            “Just leave me alone.” He walked into the crowded hallway and lost Antonin there.

            “Why is _he_ here?” Keith tried to ignore Lance’s murmuring.

            “Iverson says he’s been sleeping in the hangar. He thinks it will be better for him to sleep with someone who didn’t try to murder him in his dream.”

            “Yeah, but he keeps staring at us like he’s trying to figure out something.”

            “Side effects. Just roll with it, okay?” The lights turned off. An hour later a haunting scream rose up. Keith sat bolt upright.

            “What was that?!” He heard Lance sigh.

            “That started a couple of months ago. Just roll with it and let the rest of us get some sleep, ‘kay man?” Keith slipped out of bed and out the door. Something about that scream reminded him of something. He was going to find its source. Antonin was in his way.

            “Going somewhere, Kogane?”

            “Let me through, Antonin.”

            “Nu-uh. I’ve let you get away with enough. Now I’m finally going to get rid of you.” His meathead friend came leering out of the shadows and clapped a hand over Keith’s mouth. Antonin tied up Keith’s hands and led him away. They went to the pool, and Keith saw what was going on. He managed to get one good shout before Antonin shoved his head underwater. He pulled his head up and grinned before shoving it back in again. Something tied up his ankles, and then he was tossed unceremoniously into the twelve-foot end. No, no, no, no, no, no. This wasn’t happening. His lungs were burning and he was going to need air. He couldn’t resist it any longer. He opened his mouth and sucked in water. This was it. He was going to die. Something plunged into the pool next to him and pulled him up, out of the water and he gasped. Whoever it was dragged him to the edge of the pool and he threw up pool water. The ropes had come off at some point and he started to shiver, coughing.

            “What were you _thinking_ man? Do you have a death wish?!” Lance hauled himself out of the pool next to Keith, his pajamas soaked.

            “If you don’t know how to swim very well, you shouldn’t jump into the deep end of the pool!”

            “Did- Did you see them?”

            “See who? I just saw your crazy self drowning!”

            “Antonin. And his friend. They tossed me in the pool.” Lance gave him a concerned look over.

            “No, man, it was just you. Did you hit your head?”

            “No, they attacked me, I swear.” The screaming started again and Keith jumped up, running for the sound. He followed it, but there was just a dead end. A wall. He put his hands all over it, but he couldn’t find any clue that it was more than just a wall. Lance caught up with him.

            “I’m telling you, it just happens. You can’t do anything. You need to get back to bed now before you catch a cold.” Lance was right. He was shivering in his light pajamas and he felt way too tired. He let Lance lead him back to bed and didn’t even mind when he pulled the covers around him.

            The next day Antonin just stared at him and glared suspiciously at Lance. Keith ignored him. He was absolutely not surprised when Antonin cornered him after flight training and interrogated him.

            “How did you get out of there?”

            “Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m a fish. I have gills, and nothing hurts me in the water.” Antonin slammed him against the wall, pinning him by his shoulders.

            “Now is not a time for sass, Kogane. I swear, if you tell anyone…”

            “Already did, but they didn’t believe me, so I guess you’re safe.” Antonin growled, kicked him in the leg and left. But Keith felt victorious. He had Antonin scared now.

            That night, Keith didn’t go to bed. He hid by the wall the screaming had come from. Soon enough, Iverson came by and put his hand on the wall.

            _Access granted._ Keith slipped in before the door closed all the way, hiding under a table. The screams started again. They sounded like Shiro’s when they’d been… But if that was a dream… Eventually the screams faded and Iverson walked back out. Keith slipped out from under the table and headed towards the area of the screams. And found…

            “Shiro?” Shiro lifted his head.

            “What do you want now, Iverson- you’re not Iverson.” He didn’t seem to be able to see very well, so Keith moved closer.

            “Keith? It is you! Keith!” The feeling of someone knowing his name, and associating it with good things was great. Finally, someone who knew him beyond Iverson’s lies. All of them. He never had been in a coma, Voltron had happened, everything would be alright. Or would it? He had known Shiro before what Iverson had called the accident. Maybe it was fake. Then a squeaking sound caused him to look down, and there were the mice. Those beautiful alien mice, here to snap him out of everything. Shiro followed his gaze.

            “Yeah, they’ve been coming and chewing on my bonds. Don’t know where they came from, or why they’re doing this, but I thank them.” Keith’s happy smile faded.

            “Shiro, what do you remember before this? What happened before Iverson got you?” Shiro shrugged.

            “When I crashed and failed the Kerberos mission, I landed on earth. A terrorist group has been holding me hostage.” He looked at Keith curiously. “You should know that. Iverson said he had told you.” Keith stared at him. Another lie, his world was becoming a world of lies. He forced himself to look down. Shiro’s metal arm was missing. There was just a normal, human prosthetic. Shiro had been affected. Iverson was just getting rid of all evidence.

            “Oh, bravo, Cadet. You found the underground lair. Good for you.” Keith spun around. Iverson was standing in the door.

            “You lied to me! You lied to Shiro, you lied to _everybody_!” Iverson sighed.

            “This is why I sent Antonin after you. I knew you would mess everything up.” Keith’s temper rose and he heard Shiro gasp as some of his face turned purple, as did his hair.

            “I knew it! I knew I wasn’t imagining things!” Iverson growled.

            “Look what you’ve done now! It took _months_ to get him to that state!” Keith marched toward him and Iverson raised a gun. Keith didn’t care. The dart hit him square in the chest. Why was everything spinning? He stumbled a few steps and collapsed, Shiro calling his name.

            “Hey, have you seen Keith?” Hunk looked up from his plate of food.

            “No, why?”

            “His stuff is gone from our room.”

            “He probably finally moved to his own room.”

            “But I haven’t seen him all day. And Antonin looks extremely smug. I’m worried he might have done something.”

            “I agree, but didn’t you keep saying that you wanted him gone?”

            “From our room, not from this life!”

            “Oh, OK, just checking.” Hunk stood up.

            “What are you doing.

            “Finding him, of course. Didn’t you just say that’s what you wanted?”

            “No, but let’s do this! Onward, my brave Keith-finder!”

            “Sir, he seems to have some DNA that isn’t human. It appears to be DNA that isn’t from this planet. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Iverson rubbed his head and grumbled. Just his luck, the problematic child was part alien. Probably wouldn’t respond to the same methods he’d used on the other cadets. Great. Although, he did have tests…

            “Let’s see how well he does with isolation first.”

            Keith woke up from the tranquilizer. Ugh. He’d probably been knocked out more times in the last couple of months then he had on his whole Voltron journey. Where was he? In a cell. Fantastic. Now, was there a way out? Only if he could climb walls. They had practically thrown him in a pit with bars on the top. Even more fantastic. Tiny space, all by himself. Tiny space. What could he even do in this space?

            “You killed him!”

            “He was problematic.”

            “Now you sound like a dictator! You killed a defenseless teenager! And tried to have him drowned!”

            “I wish that idiot had succeeded, but Cadet Lance pulled him out.”

            “How do you even live with yourself!” Shiro was crying, and he didn’t care who saw. “You killed him!”

            “He’s an alien. Maybe he survived.”

            “Wouldn’t you know?”

            “No. I had his body incinerated, but maybe he escaped. Why don’t we just go back, hmm, Shiro? Back to believing in that terrorist kidnapping.”

            “What do you mean, he’s gone?!”

            “I mean we kicked him out. He couldn’t recover from the coma, and he was dragging down his group. So he’s not here.”

            “Where’d he go?!” The attendant looked down her nose at Lance and Hunk.

            “That is none of my concern.”

            “It should be!”

            “I’m not in charge of wash-outs; he’s gone, that’s all that matters. Now get out of my office.” Katie was waiting for them outside.

            “Something about this stinks. What do you say we hack the school?”

            “He seems to be responding fine to isolation, but I think the confined space is more of a problem. It is literally driving him up the walls.” The scientist showed Iverson security feed. Keith was indeed, climbing the walls. He fell down to the ground and started again.

            “Well, he’s determined. I’ll give him that.”

            “Should we try pain tests next?” Iverson shook his head.

            “No, the boy fell from three stories after being electrocuted and started making snide comments to his friends the second he was awake. Our devices won’t put a dent in him. Just put him back in his cell.” A guard nodded and went off to the pit. The building shook. “What is that?! Pull up film!” Security feeds from the outside played. Giant warships were attacking the Garrison. Alien warships.

            “We’re under attack! Launch defense systems!” The missiles fired, but they didn’t even make a dent in the massive battle station.

            “Hey! Let me out! I can help! Actually, I’m the only one who can help! Hey! Iverson!” Keith slammed into the bars. “Come on! Anyone? Seriously? I can help! Let me out!” Great. They were doomed. He strained to reach the keys. Almost… There… There was another shaking, and the keys fell out of the hook and into his hand. Yes! He unlocked the cell, and grabbed Shiro’s metal arm that had been sitting there, taunting him. He found Shiro again. Was he… crying?

            “Shiro?” He looked up.

            “Keith? You’re alive? You’re alive! I thought he had shot you, I thought you were dead!”

            “Tranquilizer.” He unlocked the cell and found some duct tape. He pulled off the prosthetic the Garrison had put on, exposing the wires from his previous arm. Keith hoped that the wires were color coordinated with the other half, because otherwise he had no idea how to fix this. He started taping wires. It took half an hour, but he got them all attached. Shiro moved the arm. It bent backward and slapped him in the face. The it slapped him again, and again.

            “Try again.” Keith groaned, and ripped off all the tape, ready to start again.

“There’s a whole other level, hidden underground?” Katie nodded.

“I think that’s where Keith is. Also the source of the mysterious screaming.”

“What are we waiting for?!”

“Think you got it right this time? I really do not want to slap myself in the face this time.”

“Got it. It’s fine.” Shiro activated his arm. It hummed and moved. He smiled.

“It’s made of duct tape, but it will do.”

“Keith!” Lance came charging down the hallway, followed by Hunk and Pidge/Katie. “Ha! We found you! Knew something was up! I knew it!” He stopped when he saw Shiro. “Shiro…”

It was like his memories had been unlocked. He remembered everything. Voltron, Allura, everything. Wow. How had he forgotten all of that? Iverson. Ooo, he was going to kill him.

“Lance? Hunk? Pi-Katie? You guys okay?” Katie slapped Keith’s arm.

“Call me Pidge you idiot! Where’s Iverson? I’m going to explode him!”

“Good to have you back. Does anybody know where the lions are?” There was a squeaking noise and the mice started pointing and waving their tiny arms.

“No, but I think they do.” They followed the mice to a suspiciously locked room. Shiro caused the lock to be ineffective, and they found the lions. Lance ran right up to Blue and started talking to her.

“No, I didn’t forget you! Well, I kind of did, but I didn’t mean to, beautiful!” The red lion roared.

_I am going to kill… Where is this Antonin that I may rip him to pieces! And then Iverson!_

“Ok, later. Right now we have bigger problems.” A snort.

_What, the invading Galra force? We can take them, easy. REVENGE!!!_

“Later. Now we need to defend the earth.” Grumbling, she let him into her cockpit.

_Fine. Galra first, then ripping. Happy?_

“No ripping.”

 _You_ never _let me have any fun._

“Isn’t saving me from the vacuum of space fun?”

_No. Not as fun as killing things._

“Noted. Let’s kill some robots, ok?” A growl of assent and they blasted into the sky. The Galra were easy to take out. They could take these things out in their sleep. The castle disbanded the shields and they all landed. On the ground, military soldiers were arresting Iverson.

“Unhand me! You can’t do this!”

“On the contrary, sir, we can. You jeopardized the whole planet, you kept Takeshi Shirogane hostage, you brainwashed practically the whole Garrison, I’ve had several calls from scientists who say you threatened their families, you attempted to have Keith Kogane killed. Those are just a few things on a long list. Good luck getting out of prison.” One of them saluted Voltron. “Thank you!” Keith pulled the arm into a salute. Red growled at him.

 _Seriously?_ His teammates shared the sentiment.

“What?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, we win! Also, the Galra were never really the antagonists in this pic, they just sped the plot along. Also Keith was making me sad.


	5. Mending Broken Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Shiro is just a great space dad here at the beginning.

Shiro could see a light on. What the… All of the paladins were in bed. He thought. Right? It was probably fine. Probably just Hunk getting a snack. Not a suicidal burglar or assassin or anything. Okay, now he was just being paranoid. Time to go to bed. Or he could see who was up. He heard a sniffle. Yup. Time to check it out. Turned out, it was just Lance. Apparently, he had a cold from jumping into a pool to save Keith and then staying in those pajamas with no blankets on the rest of that night. Why? Shiro had no idea. He still didn’t understand Lance. No emotional comforting necessary. Good. Then he heard loud music coming from Keith’s room. Great. He was still up. And Shiro bet by the time he was done getting Keith to get to bed he would have a problem with Pidge. And then Hunk would be up. Honestly, it really was like herding cats. But when he neared the room, the music turned off and the lights flipped off. Shiro shrugged and went back to his room. The lights were on and the music was playing. Seriously? And why did he have to listen to heavy metal rock? He neared the room again and everything shut off. How dumb did Keith think he was? He knocked on the door.

“Keith? You OK in there?”

“I was until you woke me up.”

“I heard the music. I’m not deaf.”

“Oh. Going to sleep, I promise.”

“Good night.”

“’Night Shiro.” Shiro walked back down the hall and the music started again.

“Keith!”

“Quiznek.” The music shut off, this time for good. Sure enough, he could hear Hunk in the kitchen. Did nobody stay in bed around here? He supposed he wasn’t one to talk. The rummaging stopped and all was quiet. Shiro laid in his bed. He was going to have to be diplomatic tomorrow for all the leaders of the world. Great. At least Hunk had fixed the arm. After taking a picture and laughing his head off, while Keith shrugged apologetically.

Shiro started awake. Something had woken him, but he wasn’t sure what. Something was wrong. He got up and wandered into the hallway. Keith’s light was on again. He opened the door. Inside all of the paladins and Allura were circled around Keith. Ah. The black lion had woken him up.

“C’mon, Keith, tell us what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine. I don’t know why all of you are in here.”

“The lions told us something was up. Now spill.”

“I’m fine!” One look at Keith told Shiro that he most definitely was _not_ fine. His eyes were rimmed with red, and he had heavy bags under his eyes.

“Keith, you can tell us anything. We’re your friends. That’s what we’re for.”

“Then why did you forget me?” Lance blinked.

“Come again?”

“If we’re friends, then why did you forget me? Maybe I’m deluded because I never had any friends, but I was under the impression that friends don’t forget each other! That they always remember each other! That people like Iverson couldn’t dissolve that bond! But you forgot me,” he whispered, “You forgot I existed. I almost went insane, because I thought our friendship was a figment of my imagination, and I didn’t know what was real anymore. Allura is my friend. She stayed. She didn’t forget. Shiro’s my friend. He didn’t forget. But all of you abandoned me. Just like everybody else in the world.” He pulled away from them, away from their sympathetic eyes. “Am I really _that_ forgettable?” Allura put a hand on his shoulder.

“Keith… I got bits and pieces from the mice, but what happened? What happened at that school?” He chuckled bitterly.

“What happened? I jumped into an electric fence and fell three stories for people who didn’t even remember me a month later. I got beat up. I was tormented for one and a half months and stabbed someone for people who didn’t remember me. Quiznek, I almost _drowned_ because nobody cared. That’s what happened.” Lance looked like a puppy Keith had just kicked.

“ _I_ cared! I cared enough to pull you out of that stupid pool!”

“Yeah? You thought I was weird! You wanted me out of your life!”

“Well, maybe if you didn’t act weird, I wouldn’t have thought that!”

“Everybody stop!” Keith and Lance stopped arguing to look at Shiro.

“What?”

“Do you hear yourselves? Did we go through all of that Galra pain for _this_ to tear us apart? Did we defeat Zarkon for _Iverson_ to pull us apart? Because, if so, you just let him win. Congratulations.”

“I… I didn’t…”

“I know you’re hurt Keith, but you can’t just lash out!”

“Oh. I see how it is. So I should just keep it in and tread on eggshells so I don’t hurt anybody’s delicate little feelings? You’re always telling me to share, to tell you what’s wrong, and now I finally do, and you tell me I can’t?! Stay consistent!” Shiro drew back. Keith inhaled and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry Shiro. I know that you had it worse. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Not for you. I just… I need some time alone okay?” It was quite clear the other paladins did not believe him, but they filed out, only Allura left.

“Keith… this isn’t just because of them forgetting you, is it? There’s another reason, isn’t there? Something that happened at the school?”

“Maybe.”

“Why didn’t you fight back?” Keith cocked his head at her. “When he attacked you. Why didn’t you fight back?”

“I… I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t want to hurt someone, just like the rest of the Galra hurt people.”

“Keith, that would’ve been self-defense! No one would have blamed you!” He gave her a mournful face.

“Really? I would’ve had the unfair advantage of being alien, with unfair strength. And he wouldn’t have known. It would have been underhanded. So, yes, I let him beat me up. It was my choice, and I may regret it, but it was the right thing to do.” Allura pulled him into a hug.

“I’m so sorry. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. I should have been more helpful.”

“The mice were plenty helpful.” She smiled and he yawned.

“Sleep now.” She turned off the light, and he fell back to his pillows.

Shiro was trapped. There was no way out. He was going to be trapped here forever, with Iverson laughing cruelly at him. Keith was shot on the floor, Lance, Hunk and Pidge had no idea who he was. His metal arm was gone, and he didn’t know what to believe anymore. They were all dead, and he couldn’t help them, Zarkon had killed them, they were gone, gone, gone. Shiro woke with a gasp. He clutched at his chest, his heart pounding. He slipped out of his bed and looked in the paladins’ rooms, contenting himself with the fact that they were fine, it was just a nightmare. His breathing slowed to a normal rate. OK. They were fine.

“Shiro?” Quiznek. He’d woken Lance.

“It’s ok, buddy. Just checking on everybody.”

“Shiro, do you think he’s right?” Shiro stopped. He hadn’t woken Lance up. He’d already been awake.

“Who?”

“Keith. Was it our fault we had forgotten?” Shiro exhaled. Oh no. this is what he’d been afraid of. Keith’s words had put glass on the carpet, so to speak. They were all going to start doubting themselves, and scraping themselves raw.

“No, no, of course not. It was Iverson, you know that.”

“Yeah, but he is right, much as it pains me to say it. Iverson shouldn’t’ve been able to break that bond.” Shiro sighed again.

“Lance, he didn’t really mean it. We’re all a little tired and a little scared right now because everything is changing, and he lashed out. I know it’s hard, but we’re all going to have to learn to deal with it.”

“But it was really hard for him, wasn’t it? He got the raw end of the deal. Iverson just pumped us full of who-knows-what and let us loose. He was stuck in a school for the criminally insane. And we just forgot about him.” His eyes welled up with tears. “And now I feel really bad for calling him freaky and weird when all of that happened, and… and…”

“No, hey it’s okay, it’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. No, it’s fine Lance. See, the fact that you feel this bad means you aren’t a terrible person. See?” Lance sniffled.

“I guess.”

“There. We’ll talk more in the morning, when maybe everybody will feel better, OK?”

“Ok.”

Keith leaned against the wall of his room. No, he hadn’t wanted to make Lance cry, why did his stupid alien hearing have to be so good? He was just making everything worse, wasn’t he? He was just… Argh! Why was everything so conflicting? Why couldn’t he ever say the right thing, like Hunk, and make everything better? Why was he always making things worse?

“Hunk? You awake?” Hunk yawned sleepily.

“Yeah, man, come on in, don’t hover in my door awkwardly.” Keith hesitated.

“You don’t hate me?”

“What, for what you said earlier? Nah, you were just letting off steam. It’s cool. If I got mad every time anybody said anything remotely mean, I would have turned into a teenage hermit _ages_ ago. I got a _lot_ of flak at the Garrison for my gastric issues.” Keith was still awkwardly hanging in the door. Hunk rolled his eyes. What did he need, an engraved invitation? “Come on, man! I don’t bite! Only hugs!” Keith tentatively sat on the bed. Hunk wrapped him up in his arms. Keith let out a _very_ undignified squeak.

“What’re you…”

“I am making up for all the hugs I forgot to give. No complaining, just let it happen.” Keith let out a sigh. Good. Resignation. He would be more likely to talk. “Now, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing’s the-”

“Nope. Nope. Don’t even try it. If nothing was the matter you would be holed up in your hermit room blasting rock music.”

“I don’t listen to _that_ much rock.”

“Moot point. What’s wrong?” Keith sighed.

“Am I just really unaware of people’s feelings? Or am I mean, or what? I just feel like I’m doing something wrong, all the time. Like I’m just hurting people. Just-”

“If you say ‘just like a Galra’ I will squeeze you until you can’t get the words out.” Keith settled down.

“I don’t think you’re bad. It’s just that being around people who care about you is new, am I right?” a nod. “right. So when it all got taken away, that hurt, right?” another nod. “It’s fine, Keith. Everybody has certain things that trigger them. You just want to be accepted. And when you are, you just are so used trying to get the acceptance that you don’t know what to do with it when you have it. It’s just like hugs, Keith. Just let it happen, and stop trying so hard. Nobody’s gonna hate you.”

“Can… can I stay with you?”

“Of course you can.”

“Hunk?”

“Uh-oh. Hide, Keith.”

“Is someone else there, Hunk? Because if you’re grief counseling someone, I won’t bother you.”

“No, no, come on, Pidge, it’s cool.” Pidge flopped onto the bed, with a muffled yelp from Keith as she flopped onto his legs. His head poked out from the covers.

“Keith? What are _you_ doing in here?”

“Um, getting grief counseling I guess. I’ll just leave now.” He tried to slide out of the bed, but Hunk grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back in. He let out another squeak.

“Oh, no you don’t. No more running from your problems. You are staying right here.” Keith stared embarrassedly at Pidge.

“Uh, hi.” She smacked him on the arm.

“Why don’t you ever tell us your problems until you have so many that you explode, you idiot?” Keith blinked. Not the reaction he’d been waiting for.

“Ummm…”

“Stop bottling everything up! Of course we’re your friends, of course Iverson can’t stop us, so tell us what’s wrong _before_ you explode! Stop being a moron!” She smacked him again.

“I take it you don’t hate me either.”

“Of course not! Well, I’m a _little_ mad, but only because you are a total and complete idiot!”

“There a party going on in here?” Lance was in the door, trying to keep up his usual bravado, but he ruined the effect when he sniffled, a telltale sign he’d been crying again. Keith jumped up.

“Lance! I… I’m so, so, sorry! I didn’t mean it, I’m terrible, I’m sorry, please be okay.” Lance blinked, before a slow smile spread across his face.

“Well, look who-”

“Do _not_ make me regret this.” He shut up.

“Apology accepted. I think.” Hunk sniffled.”

“Oh, no! Did I do something wrong? I did something wrong, didn’t I?”

“No, no, it’s sweet. I love it. Come on, both of you, sleepover pile!” Hunk seized Keith and Pidge grabbed Lance. They all flopped on the bed together, happy once again.

Shiro started awake. Not again. He got up to check on the other paladins. But they weren’t in their rooms. He frantically moved from room to room, all of them empty. Until he reached Hunk’s. He heaved a sigh of relief.

“Hey, Shiro,” Hunk called sleepily, “Come and join the fun! We got Allura and Coran and everybody!” Keith muttered something in his sleep at the sudden loss of Hunk’s arm and Shiro ruffled his hair. He grabbed Shiro’s arm and held it like a teddy bear. Shiro grinned and laid down next to him, his other arm around Hunk. Everything would be fine. They had gone through some tough times, but everything was coming back together. Their bonds were strong, and the worst was over. They had brought peace to the universe, and themselves as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwwwww, that was sweet. They're all happy again! yay!


End file.
